Cheyenne Mayor, PETA, Clash Over Circus Performances [AUDIO]

Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr and the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, are at odds over a circus that will be performing in Laramie Tuesday and Cheyenne on Wednesday.

The Garden Brothers Circus is slated to perform at the Laramie Ice and Events Center for two shows, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, and two more shows at the same times Wednesday afternoon at the Cheyenne Ice and Events Center. PETA on Monday released a statement accusing the circus of ''frequently poking, yanking and prodding elephants in sensitive areas of their bodies."The written statement released on Monday accused a trainer with the circus of using a bullhook to coerce the elephants into performing. You can read the entire statement from PETA here.

A caller who identified himself as ''David with PETA'' left a phone message with our sister station KGAB on Monday afternoon calling on the Cheyenne Ice and Events Center to cancel the animal acts portion of the circus in Cheyenne Wednesday. The caller did not specifically mention the Laramie performances of the circus in his message.

The mayor released the following statement on Monday evening:

"I am not surprised PETA is calling for the cancellation of Wednesday’s circus, and expect them to return again next month to protest Cheyenne Frontier Days. Just a few months ago they asked that frozen chickens used for our annual chicken curling competition be switched out with vegan roasts. I welcome the Circus to town and encourage families to partake in an event that has entertained for over 100 years. We have tickets granting children free admission to the circus available in my office."